How to check how readable your Microsoft Word document is

Readability
This week's series of tips will be focusing on handy little features for Microsoft Excel and Word. To see the previous tips, check our Tips index.

If you use difficult words, your documents will be difficult to read and understand. That's a fairly basic statement; fortunately, there have been several smart people who took this statement and created formulas that help you quickly see how readable your document is.

It turns out Microsoft Word can be made to show "readability statistics" using these formulas. This could help you write simpler, clearer text, and hit the level of comprehension you're trying to reach. Here's how to enable readability statistics in Word 2010:

  • Click the File tab, and then click Options
  • Click Proofing
  • Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, make sure Check grammar with spelling is selected.
  • Select Show readability statistics
(These instructions come from Microsoft's documentation, where you can find similar instructions for Outlook, too.)

Once readability statistics are enabled, run a spell check on your document. At the end of the spell check you'll get a new dialog with all sorts of interesting numbers, such as average sentences per paragraph, words per sentence, and characters per word. You will also get three different readability grades, which you can use to easily judge your document's level.

How to check how readable your Microsoft Word document is originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/13/how-to-check-how-readable-your-word-document-is/

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AT&T handing over 1000 free rollover minutes to all of its customers

Well, would you look at that. A day after the Verizon iPhone goes on sale to the general public, AT&T is dishing out 1000 free rollover minutes to all of its customers. The catch? None that we know of -- the wireless company apparently just wants to thank all of its awesome customers for, you know, not making the switch to some other carrier with Apple's smartphone. Simply text "yes" to 11113020 to be awarded the talk tokens -- which will probably just pile up on top of the thousands you've undoubtedly already accumulated. Too bad they can't prevent dropped calls.

[Thanks, Danielle]

AT&T handing over 1000 free rollover minutes to all of its customers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 19:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/11/atandt-handing-over-1000-free-rollover-minutes-to-all-of-its-custo/

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The Average Woman In Every Country Looks Like This [Image Cache]

The Faces of Tomorrow projects takes lots of photos of people in various countries and merges them into one "average" face. It's interesting, because if you gave me the photo for the average face for say, China, Korea, Japan and some other Asian countries and asked me to guess where they were from, I could probably get it right. They really do look like the stereotypical person from that country. [BI] More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8exCB2poGLY/

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ControlCraft is a quick strategy game -- Time-Waster

controlcraft
Take Galcon Fusion, and imagine that instead of planets, you've got "barracks" spewing soldiers. Add funky background music and audio clips such as "Enemy down", "On my way Sir!", and you've got ControlCraft.

You start off the game with one set of "barracks" (a circle, basically - like a planet in Galcon) producing soldiers. There are empty circles on the map, but your enemy is moving fast to capture them. Each circle produces new troops at a given rate, so the more circles you control, the more soldiers you have to send against your enemy.

One interesting twist for ControlCraft is that there are some special barracks: There's a type that gives your soldiers "jet-pack" ability, and one that shoots rays out to destroy incoming units (i.e, the circle "defends itself"), but it doesn't create any units on its own. There's also an "armory" that upgrades your soldiers' weapons, and possibly some other goodies I haven't uncovered yet.

All in all, if you enjoy quick strategy games and like the odd military-themed game, this one's for you.

ControlCraft is a quick strategy game -- Time-Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/04/controlcraft-is-a-quick-strategy-game-time-waster/

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NBA Jam for iOS lights up the App Store!

You knew it was coming, and now it's here: NBA Jam is now available for purchase from the App Store. At $4.99, Jam is all the portable b-ball action you can handle on your iOS device -- with unlockable NBA legends including Dr. J and Dennis Rodman, a campaign mode, and play-by-play by Tom Kitzrow (who did the original NBA Jam voicing). As you can tell from the screenshot, even big head mode is available. Boom shakalaka!

Check out the teaser video after the break for a more in-depth look at NBA Jam for iOS.

Continue reading NBA Jam for iOS lights up the App Store!

NBA Jam for iOS lights up the App Store! originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/11/nba-jam-ios/

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SwiftKey for Android Honeycomb tablets demonstrated, looks thumbtastic

Feast your eyes on the first 'improved' on-screen keyboard for Android Honeycomb tablets! With the same prediction engine from the smartphone variant, and with a beautiful tablet-optimized two-thumb interface, it looks like SwiftKey will redefine text input on tablets.

Engadget has the complete story, some more photos, and some hands-on experience, but judging by the videos (included after the break), typing with SwiftKey for tablets looks really fast. The keyboard is broken up into three panels, with letters and punctuation placed under your left and right thumbs, and the number pad in the middle. SwiftKey's Fluency Prediction Engine can apparently predict "around a third of words" before you even press any keys -- and once you do start typing, the most likely prediction can be completed with the space bar, and second and third predictions can be selected by using the two big panels near your left and right thumbs. If you watch the videos you can see some complete sentences being typed in just a few seconds -- crazy.

The best thing, at least from SwiftKey's perspective, is that you can't see much competition coming from other input replacements, like Swype. With larger screens, the handwriting paradigm doesn't really make sense. It's more a matter of utilizing screen real estate to leverage the power of our thumbs! SwiftKey may have found a very nice niche indeed.

Continue reading SwiftKey for Android Honeycomb tablets demonstrated, looks thumbtastic

SwiftKey for Android Honeycomb tablets demonstrated, looks thumbtastic originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 06:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/03/swiftkey-for-android-honeycomb-tablets-demonstrated-looks-thumb/

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Flash Player 10.2 with Stage Video hardware acceleration out of beta

flash 10.2
Flash Player 10.2 is finally out of beta!

We've covered this upgrade before, and after three months of beta testing, Adobe feels ready to roll this one out as an official update.

The key features that make Flash 10.2 a worthwhile upgrade are:

  • Proper full-screen support for multi-monitor systems: At long last, users with more than one monitor would be able to play a full-screen video on one monitor while working with another monitor! Hurrah! This long-overdue feature alone is worth the upgrade.
  • Stage Video: Adobe's new API for high-performance video playback across multiple platforms. In simple terms, it makes HD video fast and easy on your computer. The only snag is that developers will have to build in support for it - it's not just a client-side change. Adobe says YouTube, Vimeo, and Brightcove are already hard at work adding support.
  • Font smoothing: Flash player isn't all about video, after all. This improvement adds ClearType-like font smoothing.
  • Hardware acceleration: Last but not least, Flash 10.2 supports IE 9's hardware acceleration capabilities ("GPU rendering").
All in all, Flash 10.2 sounds like a worthy upgrade. Click here for the download page, and if you're using Chrome, be sure to disable the built-in Flash plug-in to reap the benefits unless you're on the updated Dev channel.

Flash Player 10.2 with Stage Video hardware acceleration out of beta originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 04:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/09/flash-player-10-2-with-stage-video-hardware-acceleration-out-of/

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How to change a default application on Android

android
This week's tips series is all about Android, highlighting some the operating system's built-in utilities, and better ways of getting stuff done. For other technology tips, check our Tips index.

When you first try an alternative launcher or Web browser, Android asks if you'd like that application to be the default from now on. You may say yes and then come to regret it later on - perhaps you've decided you like another launcher better, or wish to go back to using the stock Android browser.

While you could always uninstall the application you no longer wish to be the default, that's a bit of a brute-force solution. Perhaps you still want it on your system, but only wish to use it every now and then.

To make an app stop being a "default application" for a certain type of action, do this:

1) Go to Settings > Applications > Manage applications.
2) Locate your application in the list. If the list is too long, you can hit the Running tab, because your app most likely is still running somewhere in the background.
3) Once you've located it, tap its name.
4) You will now find yourself in the Application info screen. Scroll down until you see the heading which says Launch by default.
5) Press the Clear defaults button, shown in the screenshot.

When you next try to perform the operation previously associated with this app (launch a browser, go to the home screen, etc.), you will be presented with a dialog letting you choose what app should be used. Presto!

How to change a default application on Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/26/how-to-make-an-application-stop-being-the-default-on-android/

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The Thinking Cap Is No Longer Just an Expression [Weird Science]

Scientists continue the important work of turning phrases of speech into actual things! In this case, from Australian researchers Allan Snyder and Richard Chi comes a genuine thinking cap that uses 10 to 15 minutes of low-level electrical pulses to stimulate "new modes of thinking" in patients. Slap an Orioles logo on that thing and I'm in. [News AU via Geekologie] More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/z-LlKsBn7sY/

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Tron: Legacy Blu-ray gets a release date, supports Disney's Second Screen iPad app

Amazon already revealed the three different Tron: Legacy Blu-ray & Blu-ray 3D combo packs on the way, from the 2-disc standard edition to the two movie, 5-disc Identity Disc-packaged limited edition but now we know the release date (4/5/11) and info about the extras. On the disc, Blu-ray-only exclusives include the Daft Punk music video for their song Derezzed, plus Launching the Legacy, Disc Roars and The Next Day: Flynn Lives Revealed features (Tron: The Original Classic Special Edition saves a Photo Tronology just for Blu-ray watchers.) If you have an iPad, the Disney Second Screen app that will make its debut alongside Bambi March 1 adds to the action with 360-degree views of the Tron vehicles, interactive progression reels and other information all synced to the movie by the audio track. There's more details including MSRPs ($40 - $80) and the press release after the break.

Continue reading Tron: Legacy Blu-ray gets a release date, supports Disney's Second Screen iPad app

Tron: Legacy Blu-ray gets a release date, supports Disney's Second Screen iPad app originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 20:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/nbo2iE6V0hg/

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